The conformal edge slot radiator is a good antenna for applications that require an antenna to conform to the exterior dimensions of a conical or cylindrical body such as a re-entry vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,480 discloses an edge slot radiator which is capable of emitting azimuthally symmetric radiation in a single, narrow band of frequencies. The device of the patent comprises generally a dielectric substrate having a plurality of holes positioned in radial lines over the substrate, the conductive plating on the opposed surfaces of the substrate acting as radiating elements, a plurality of inductive shorting posts formed in the holes, and input means for exciting the radiating elements. Simply by increasing the number of inductive posts one can raise the operating frequency of the antenna without changing its physical dimensions. While this device functions well, it suffers from the limitation that it is capable of radiating only in a single, narrow band of frequencies.
For applications requiring multifrequency or broader band radiation the prior art devices are inadequate. It is an object of this invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art antennas.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a multifrequency antenna, capable of radiating at multiple frequencies from a single input.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such an antenna wherein the frequencies radiated may be selectively varied whereby the artisan may design an antenna suited to particular needs.
It is a further object of the invention to design a multifrequency antenna which is readily capable of conforming to the exterior dimensions of a projectile or reentry vehicle.
The present invention achieves these objectives by providing several modified dielectric loaded edge slot radiators connected in series fashion. Each radiator may be tuned to radiate at a distinct frequency.